Table 3 Risk factors for chronic low back pain (N = 678)

 18 – 27

45 (6.6%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 28 - 37

150 (22.1%)

1.1 (0.4 – 2.8)

0.910

3.3 (0.5 – 19.9)

0.197

 38 – 47

202 (29.8%)

1.4 (0.5 – 3.5)

0.516

3.9 (0.7 – 22.5)

0.127

 48 -57

186 (27.4%)

1.5 (0.6 – 3.7)

0.433

4.6 (0.8 – 26.2)

0.087

 58+

95 (14.0%)

2.6 (1.0 – 6.8)

0.055

5.0 (0.8 – 31.2)

0.088

 Male

284 (41.9%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 Female

394 (58.1%)

0.3 (0.9 – 2.0)

0.188

1.1 (0.5 – 2.2)

0.806

 Single

113 (16.7%)

1 (ref)

 Married

325 (47.7%)

1.2 (0.7 – 2.0)

0.594

 Separated

184 (27.1%)

0.8 (0.5 – 1.6)

0.573

 Widowed

56 (8.2%)

1.0 (0.4 – 2.3)

0.980

 Under weight

87 (12.8%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 Normal

219 (32.3%)

0.7 (0.3 – 1.7)

0.404

0.4 (0.1 – 1.7)

0.229

 Overweight

216 (31.9%)

4.60 (2.01 – 10.52)

0.000

3.7 (1.1 – 12.3)

0.032*

 Obese

156 (23.0%)

4.2 (1.8 – 9.9)

0.001

2.3 (0.7 – 8.0)

0.186

 No formal education

137 (20.2%)

5.8 (3.0 – 11.1)

0.000

6.1 (2.1 – 18.1)

0.001*

 Primary education

215 (31.7%)

1.7 (0.9 – 3.4)

0.108

2.6 (0.9 – 7.8)

0.077

 Secondary education

179 (26.4%)

1.5 (0.7 – 3.0)

0.279

1.4 (0.5 – 4.0)

0.529

 Tertiary education

147 (21.7%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 No

357 (52.7%)

3.4 (2.2 – 5.3)

0.000

2.2 (1.0 – 4.8)

0.044*

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 No

425 (62.7%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 Yes – 1 to 10 cigarettes

140 (20.6%)

3.90 (2.27 – 6.71)

0.000

4.52 (2.00 – 10.24)

0.000**

 Yes – 11 and above

113 (16.7%)

15.45 (9.15 – 26.09)

0.000

25.32 (10.40 – 61.23)

0.000**

 No

231 (34.1%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 Yes – occasional

252 (37.2%)

1.85 (1.07 – 3.18)

0.026

2.49 (1.06 – 5.88)

0.037*

 Yes – frequently

195 (28.8%)

6.52 (3.99 – 10.66)

0.000

11.28 (4.93 – 25.83)

0.000**

 Semi sedentary

396 (58.4%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 Sedentary

107 (15.8%)

25.93 (12.41 – 54.21)

0.000

31.83 (11.23 – 90.23)

0.000**

 Manual labour

175 (25.8%)

25.73 (12.82 – 51.66)

0.000

26.22 (10.05 – 68.41)

0.000**

 Straight back

138 (17.5%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 Stooped

126 (16.0%)

3.98 (2.15 – 7.36)

0.000

5.96 (2.02 – 17.57)

0.001*

 Forward inclination

198 (25.2%)

2.67 (1.50 – 4.74)

0.001

2.54 (0.94 – 6.88)

0.067

 Backward inclination

216 (27.4%)

0.48 (0.23 – 1.00)

0.051

0.44 (0.14 – 1.36)

0.152

 Yes

171 (21.7%)

1 (ref)

1 (ref)

 No

507 64.4%)

2.40 (1.39 – 4.13)

0.020

1.26 (0.48 – 3.29)

0.641

 < 2

52 (7.7%)

1 (ref)

 2 – 3

87 (12.8%)

0.62 (0.23 – 1.65)

0.337

 3 – 4

116 (17.1%)

0.66 (0.26 – 1.63)

0.364

 4 – 5

128 (18.9%)

0.78 (0.33 – 1.87)

0.581

 5+

295 (43.5%)

1.54 (0.72 – 3.32)

0.267

 Yes

326 (48.1%)

2.24 (1.49 – 3.36)

0.000

1.61 (0.82 – 3.17)

0.168

 No

352 (51.9%)

1 (ref)